Babak Aghel

In this study, the process of carbon dioxide (CO2) desorption from two saturated solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine (DEA) was performed in a microchannel made of stainless-steel grade 316 with a circular cross-section (diameter: 800 μm, length: 35 cm). The operating variables in this study were temperature (55, 75 and 95 °C), rich solvent flow rate (0.3, 0.9 and 1.5 ml/min), and inlet solvent concentration (10, 20 and 30 wt% of the amine). The mass transfer efficiency was determined based on the desorption percentage, volumetric liquid-side mass transfer coefficient (kLaV), volumetric overall mass transfer flux (NCO2aV), and energy consumption per unit mass CO2 (R). The results showed that the use of a microchannel significantly increased the mass transfer rate and decreased energy consumption per removed CO2. The results also showed that the amount of kLaV for the two solvents of MEA and DEA was 1.91 and 3.48 1/s, respectively. Moreover, the R-value for the two solvents of MEA and DEA was 1.3 and 1.63 MJ/kg CO2, respectively, which is at least three times lower than that of other mass transfer devices.